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2009 Winter Tour Blog, Day 2: Seattle/Astoria

Today's post is written by Virginia Calkins, a junior in Pierson College and the 2008-2009 YGC Outreach Chair.

7 a.m. Seattle, WA: the Glee Club wakes up, each in a comfortable home. I embark on a walk with my host and her dog around Seward Park, admiring Lake Washington's beauty.

9 a.m. Downtown Seattle: the Glee Club disperses for a few hours of free time to explore the Pike Place Market, the Seattle Art Museum, or Rem Koolhaus' brilliance in the Seattle Public Library.

11:30 a.m. The Bus: the Glee Club loads the bus for the journey down the coast. We watch The Goonies and debate watching Free Willy, both movies filmed in Astoria. Some gleelings catch some zzzz.

2:00 p.m. Liberty Theater, Astoria, OR: the Glee Club arrives in Astoria (pop. 10,000) to discover a wonderful, historical Vaudeville theater. We rehearse, making sure to memorize the few songs we had used music for the previous night.

6:00 p.m. The McTavish room of the Liberty Theater: the Glee Club dines on an incredible combination of family specialties: meatballs, clam chowder, salad, clementines, etc. I practice my juggling skills with clementines.

7:00 p.m. CONCERT #2 of tour: the Glee Club sings the second concert entirely from memory. The audience enjoys the show and responds enthusiastically to the spirituals.

7:55 p.m. Liberty Theater Stage: the Glee Club sings an especially exciting rendition of the football medley. Our two esteemed pianists, Eli and Ray, engage in a (carefully choreographed) wrestle over the prestigious job of accompanying the medley. Jeff hands the microphone to Noah for his bulldog roar, which terrifies the first five rows of the audience.

9:45 p.m. Astoria, OR and Seaside, OR: the Glee Club settles down in various homes in the area. I enjoy a magic show put on by the two children at my homestay and tuck myself into a warm bed for the night.

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––––

I first encountered this piece when I was 16, as part of a northern
Virginia choral association concert. They mailed me the score (which I still
have) and gave me a few weeks to learn it before having two rehearsals and then
a concert. I still remember trying to learn the music note by note (since I
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first impression, especially once I got to “Beat! Beat! Drums!” was….what the
heck is this music. I didn’t really understand the poetry, or the war, or any
of the context surrounding this piece. All I knew was there was something about
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in Dan…the piece was a mys…